Taming Danya
Taming Danya
The station was directly ahead.
Danya wrapped the train's wheels in vines.
— Screeeeeech!
The train came to a screaming stop.
...We did it. We actually did it.
A descent the length of a mountain peak, navigated cleanly without a single derailment, and now we had stopped. Most of the credit was Ian's, but the feeling was still good.
"Nyaaa...."
That sense of accomplishment squeezed out a very cat-kin sigh, the kind I'd been trying to hide. But the good feeling remained.
Had word already spread?
The platform below bustled with staff who had rushed out. Schwab, after exchanging a few words with Ian, climbed down.
For Danya, it was a fine outcome either way.
More than that, I wanted to savor this feeling.
The rough wind that had whipped past us on that endless downhill slope,
the frantic scrambling to wrestle the train around every curve, and the way I'd burst out giggling at Ian's face smudged black with soot during all the chaos.
It was exhausting, but it was so much fun.
So fun that I hadn't experienced anything like it since I'd arrived at Lichten, lonely and alone.
'...If I had given up the mage's path, like I'd resolved to do just before meeting Ian, I never would have lived through something like this.'
Danya gave up trying to suppress the grin tugging at her lips.
She plopped down beside Ian and grinned.
"Tired, Ian?"
"A little."
"Hehe."
She swung her legs in the air a few times, a soft whoosh, whoosh, then spoke.
"I had so much fun."
"Is that so. I'm glad."
Danya turned her head and openly studied his face.
Ian's face rarely showed much expression.
He always moved forward without hesitation, his gaze confident, his eyes tinged with a sort of perpetual weariness.
Now was no different.
The confidence was still there, but the dark circles under his eyes had deepened.
The only real difference was the soot smeared across his cheek.
Danya wanted to say it.
'I'm glad you're my partner.'
...That's what she wanted to say.
But though her lips parted, no words came out.
It was just too embarrassing. For whatever reason, expressing positive feelings honestly was hard. And doing it in front of Ian made it nearly impossible.
Instead, Danya cupped her hands together.
"Hey, give me some dirt."
"...?"
Ian gave her a questioning look, then silently scooped some soil into her waiting hands.
The cool, moist texture of the earth. Danya closed her eyes.
'If words are too hard... then with magic.'
That was why she had chosen the path of a mage in the first place. She gathered the feelings she wanted to express.
The crisp, cold wind she'd felt atop the train sliding down the mountainside.
The spells she'd cast with desperate passion to keep us on track, and the pleasant sense of exhaustion that followed.
The snow blossoms all around us, the breathtaking scenery.
The wish that you, exhausted, might be healed just a little.
To encapsulate those emotions, she moved the mana of grass, full of life force.
A sprout pushed up through the soil.
A stalk grew, and a bud formed.
Then, it bloomed.
"What do you think?"
Danya beamed, holding out the pure white flower to Ian.
◆
A 3-Star mana recovery skill of grass-attribute mages.
「Snow Blossom Flower」
Considering that it's a support skill, being rated at 3-Stars is no small achievement. Furthermore, it's a mana recovery effect triggered by a summoned entity.
Unlike other recovery skills that typically 'transfer' the caster's own mana, this one transfers the summon's mana, making it a recovery skill in the truest sense.
Thus, 「Snow Blossom Flower」 is a spell known as the pinnacle of grass-attribute support skills.
Masking his surprise, Ian spoke.
"...It's pretty."
"Hehe."
Watching that unassuming smile, Ian thought to himself.
Danya truly had talent.
Not just any talent. It was an overwhelming talent that wouldn't lose out to any of the heroines.
Had he actively pushed her forward from behind, the way he did with the heroines? No, he hadn't.
He'd only given her small nudges. Things like preparing elixirs for her, or when she was lost on her path due to mana sensitivity so overwhelming it dwarfed her actual skill, letting her feel the purified grass element beside her.
With just a single small spark like that, Danya's talent had ignited on its own.
In this moment, Ian felt certain.
Danya was a mage who would become a massive asset in the scenarios to come. She would grow into a mage whose name would be etched into the continent's history.
The only thing he couldn't be sure of was exactly what events a Danya who had grown that strong would face.
Because he had never seen her future.
In the 'Fanta X Aca' he had played as a game, Danya was nothing more than an extra who got swept up in an accident during the early story's training exercise and vanished.
If that truly was her destiny, then deadly crises might very well come for her again.
Ian had no intention of standing by and letting her die.
If Danya was alive because he had possessed this body, then taking responsibility for her future was simply another part of his karma. Or rather, since he'd gained a reliable comrade, it was a reward.
'...Taming, huh.'
The interaction between beast-kin and humans was clearly defined as 'taming.' It seemed that didn't only mean humans taming beast-kin. Perhaps humans could be tamed by beast-kin, too.
Ian placed his hand on Danya's head.
"...?"
Danya looked up, her eyes wide and round.
She didn't spring back with a jolt like she always had before.
She just slowly lowered her gaze, her ears turning faintly red.
And so, Ian gently stroked her hair.
Danya closed her eyes and quietly savored the touch.
Her tail swayed gently, a sign of her contentment.
Thanks to the 「Snow Blossom Flower」, his depleted mana and stamina began to slowly replenish.
They were enjoying that healing and respite for a while when—
"Student Ian—!"
Schwab's voice rang out.
He'd been talking with the senior staff below the train alongside Rina, gesturing animatedly, and they seemed to have reached some conclusion.
◆
Gettwyn, Vice Chairman of the Northern Mountain Range Train Operation Association.
He had rushed out upon hearing that something was wrong with the train, and was now staring in shock at the short moving pictures reporter Schwab had presented.
"...Good heavens. Without these photographs, I truly would not have believed it."
Two, maybe three mages had hauled a powered-down train over the mountain peak.
And the one who had played the central role was a single mage.
The black-haired young man walked over.
"Is that gentleman the one...?"
"Yes."
He immediately extended his hand toward Ian.
"I am Gettwyn, Vice Chairman of the Northern Mountain Range Train Operation Association."
"Northern... Ah, yes. I'm Ian Blackangus."
For a mage this young to have moved a dead train all the way here.
Furthermore, while passengers suffered minor injuries, there were no serious casualties.
"I wish to offer our sincere apologies for this disgraceful incident involving our train."
Gettwyn bowed his head deeply, with genuine courtesy.
A much greater disaster had been on the verge of occurring, but this student before him had prevented it.
What's more, a student of Lichten Academy was highly likely to be from a prominent family.
He knew well that quick and sincere compensation was the most effective way to prevent the situation from escalating.
Gettwyn held out a box toward Ian.
"This is...?"
"High-grade mana potions from the Alchemist's Workshop. It is compensation for the magical power expended by you four ability users."
Four transparent bottles containing a blue liquid.
As Ian picked one up to examine it, Gettwyn continued.
"Regarding the emotional distress you have suffered, we intend to provide separate compensation... We will guarantee an amount equal to ten times the price of your tickets for this journey. We will arrange matters so that this can be discussed at any branch of the Northern Mountain Range Train Operation Association in the future."
"Yes. Please do so."
"Furthermore, we have prepared a special high-speed train bound for your destination, so please feel free to use it. It should arrive within approximately 10 minutes."
"Right."
"Then."
Gettwyn had a mountain of work to handle.
With a polite nod, he excused himself and left.
Meanwhile, Schwab approached Ian, who was examining the mana potion with keen interest.
"Student Ian. No, perhaps calling you 'Sir Ian' is more fitting now. I've witnessed such extraordinary ability that 'student' doesn't seem to suffice."
"Just keep it comfortable."
"Haha! Then, Student Ian. As we spoke about on the train, I won't run the story about your heroics just yet. The article will first go out by emphasizing the dangers of mana stones."
"Thank you."
"Is there a reason you want to hide your involvement like this?"
Originally, the train was supposed to crash, and that should have become a major continental issue. There was likely no benefit to Ian getting personally entangled in it. If so, it was better if the future didn't change too much.
...He couldn't just spill all that to Schwab.
In that case—
"Wouldn't it be better to have only one issue at a time?"
At Ian's words, Schwab's eyes widened.
"Ho-oh. You know how to handle public opinion. Well then, I'll go and send a telegraph. Hahaha!"
He had jumped to his own conclusions — but, well, it didn't seem like a bad thing.
◆
The Ducal House of Pierce.
Luxurious carriages had begun to arrive one by one.
Nobles dressed to the nines for the social gathering stepped down, and the household's servants greeted them warmly.
Meanwhile, in the study of the family head, Richard Pierce.
A trusted confidant was giving his report before him.
"...They say it failed. Apparently, 'that child' was on board, so they did not execute the second plan."
"The child is not dead, I trust?"
"Yes. They reportedly survived along with the entire train. However, our operative had to feign unconsciousness to avoid suspicion, so we do not know the exact details of what occurred."
"As expected, the judgment of that person was not mistaken. For now, the child's life is more important. Chaos can be stirred up at any time."
"Then, as planned, at the social gathering, that child will be...."
— Slip.
A brief sound from the door.
Both of their eyes simultaneously snapped toward it.
Neither of them was of such a low caliber as to miss the fleeting glimpse of long blue hair.
"It seems Lady Sharon was eavesdropping. Would it be best to dispose of her...?"
"Leave her be. She is already broken."
"Even so, did you not bestow a sword upon her recently? She has seemed to regain her composure ever since."
At his confidant's words, the family head chuckled darkly.
"Not knowing her place, she tried to take her own life."
"She...."
"I'm simply waiting for her blood to ripen, just like her mother's."
The family head's blue eyes glinted with avarice.